Ongoing ear infection leaves man paralysed: case
The otherwise healthy man's ongoing otitis externa led to spinal abscesses and cervical cord syndrome
![](https://www.ausdoc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/One-time-ear-infection-cervical-cord_BMJ-1.jpg)
Doctors are being urged to watch for ‘red flags’ in patients with otitis externa, after a healthy middle-aged man became paralysed when his condition progressed to complete cervical cord syndrome.
The 54-year-old presented to his GP with a two-day history of worsening left-sided otorrhoea, headache, neck stiffness, vomiting and a fever of 40.3°C.